Top ten technology advances in Health Care
Technology advances in health care have enabled physicians to diagnose and treat their patients better since the beginning of their professional practice. Thanks to the continuous technology development in the health care industry, countless lives have been saved. Furthermore, the overall quality of life continues to improve over time.
In the world today, technology plays a vital role in each industry as well as in people’s personal lives. Out of all the industries that technology plays an integral role in, healthcare is without a doubt, one of the most important. Medical technology is a broad field wherein innovations plays a crucial role in order to sustain healthy. Areas such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, IT, development of medical equipment and devices and more all have made significant contributions to improving health all over the world. From small innovations such as artificial organs, MRI machines and robotic prosthetic limbs, technology without doubt has made an amazing impact on medicine.
In the health care field, dependence on medical technology can’t be overstated, thus the development of brilliant innovations. Health care practitioners could continue finding ways to enhance their practice, from better surgical procedures, diagnosis and enhanced patient care.
As the 2016 technology market would be inundated with innovations, the health care sector has considered some of the top technology advances, many pointing towards value-based care. Leaders in the health care industry have to deal with numerous technology concerns, as well as demands from various departments in their facilities. The following are the top ten technology advances that are set to boost the health care field.
- MSUs or mobile stroke units. They use specially-outfitted ambulances as well as staff members in coordination with telemedicine to perform CT scans, blood tests and TPA test before the patient reaches the hospital.
- Wireless wearable sensors. As a growing number of consumers turn to wellness applications, wearable sensors and devices, healthcare officials should also learn how to use this data. This is to lower hospital stays as well as readmissions for people with chronic or serious conditions.
- Mini leadless pacemakers. The next generation pacemakers are ten percent the size of the conventional ones. Furthermore, they are designed for just one heart chamber. It is more effective compared to a traditional model, but only ideal for fifteen percent pacemaker patients.
4. Medical device cyber security. Most healthcare information technology leaders incorporate stringent security features for network infrastructures as well as EHRs, but not for their mobile devices. As a lot of devices are attached to the EHRs of patients, C-suite members should perform threat assessments and know the software and devices that are connected to vital patient data.
- New high-cost cardiovascular drugs. There are three newly –approved homecare cardiovascular medications are expensive than standard medications, but short-term data has lauded efficacy.
- Spectral computed tomography. It will reenter the health tech conversation because of the new tools and increased marketing. Moreover, it builds on traditional CT scans by adding depth to physiologic soft tissue function with a dual-layer detector.
- Changing environment of robotic surgery. The robotic surgery scenario is changing fast. Vendor competition exploded early this year, with a switch from mainframe to tablet-type programs.
- Warm donor organ perfusion systems. New technology offers warm perfusion of hearts and lungs to eradicate the issue that two-thirds of organs aren’t used by hospitals, as viability deteriorates preserving, harvesting and transporting.
- Blue-violet LED lighting. The lights provide continuous environmental disinfection technology. These kill harmful health-related bacteria, a major cause of morbidity, morality and growing healthcare costs in the United States.
- Injected bio-absorbable hydrogel or SpaceOAR. It is approved for patients with prostate cancer. It is designed to protect tissue and healthy organs from radiation. At present, there is limited reimbursement for this use. However, studies revealed that the barrier is highly effective.
Medical advancement has evolved from introducing physicians to new equipment for their use in private practices. Also, hospitals connect doctors and patients miles and miles away through telecommunications. It is not unusual nowadays for patients to have video conferences with doctors in order to save money and time, which normally are spent on traveling to another location or send health information immediately to any doctor or specialist in the world.
Integration of medical equipment technology and telehealth also has created robotic surgeries, wherein some cases, physicians do not need to be in the operating room with a patient when surgery is done. Surgeons could perform operation out of their home base and patients could have the procedure done in a clinic or hospital in their hometown, eliminating stress and hassles of travel.